Of monsters and dreams
by Gevalia
Summary: There was a time when Sarah Williams was just like every other girl. Well. Almost as every other girl. That, however, was until she travelled to a fairy-tale land to save her brother. After that, she started to see things. And by acknowledging some things, you give the power.
1. Chapter 1

**Not mine, but I hope you already knew that.**

There was a time when Sarah Williams was just like every other girl. Well. Almost as every other girl. That, however, was until she travelled to a fairy-tale land to save her brother, and as she walked along the dirty alley and the rain started to fall on her head she cursed her former self for about the sixth millionth time for being such a stupid brat.

After she had gotten Toby back, she had been thrilled to know. What in the real world could harm her when she knew there was something else out there? When she had her real friends come and visit her whenever she needed them. When she knew magic was real.

Well, as it seamed, a lot of things could. And they didn't hesitated to do it either. Pretty soon she had realised that goblins weren't the only creatures who roamed the aboveground. Trolls, fairies, imps and whatever the thing with green scales were. They were everywhere. Ordinary people just couldn't see them, and at the beginning she had enjoyed knowing what other people didn't, to see why the water glass continued to tip over and why the socks in the washer always came out in a different colour. But then the creatures started to realise that she saw them to. And then all hell broke loose.

At first they just looked at her. This in itself made her feel uncomfortable. The silent ominous way that they glanced at her from a distance when she caught their eyes made her skin crawl. But then they started to get closer and closer. She started to ask her friends over to keep guard while she slept after she woke up with a troll standing in the corner of her room. Smiling. And not in a good way.

When one of them tried to grab her when she left home and she screaming tugged her arm away from it and ran inside again, it was impossible for her to pretend that everything was alright. Karen noticed of course and how could she explain that a magical creature was trying to kidnap her? Yeah right. She couldn't. This was also when she started to worry about Toby. What if the imps figured out that he had been below? Sarah had realised that other children also saw the creatures if they were still small, but what if they realised he had been underground? What would stop them from simply taking him? That and the realisation that if they got to know it would be because of her. Toby seemed normal, because every Toddler could see them. Hoggle explained that it would grow away. That it always did. But what if she made them realise that he had been wished away.

So she had to go. She just left one night. She cried when she stroke Toby over the head. He opened his eyes and looked at her. For once he was quiet, as if he understood the severity in the situation. When she turned to leave he made a noise. She closed her eyes hard and turned to look at him again. He waived at her and she laughed against her will and picked him up and gave him a hug. She didn't look back once she had left.

Four years had gone since that day and Sarah still cursed the day she made that stupid wish. She had since learned that trolls and imps where the least of her troubles. There were darker beings at play in the world, beings that need not grab her with hands or claws.


	2. Chapter 2

**Not mine. Just writing for kicks. You know... figuratively speaking******...**not the literal ones.**

She looked at her surroundings. She was in a park. There was no one in sight, but she knew by now that it didn't mean anyone was there, looking, waiting. She had been lucky not to have been raped or seriously hurt during these years, but there had been close calls. Several times. She had three parallel scars along her thigh as a reminder not to stay put too long.

She sat down under a tree. With a sight she put down her backpack and wished she could take a shower. Or a bath. What she wouldn't give to be clean. She didn't notice the smell anymore, but she knew how bad it was from the reactions of the people around her. For starters people would give her odd jobs. Small things. But not anymore. She could go to the shelters, but she was afraid. The last time she went to one of those the manager had expected payment she wasn't willing to give. She closed her eyes for a second, listening to the rain falling. She was tired of running. She was tired of being scared all the time. She just wished...

"Go 'day miss" Her eyes snapped open and was met by the eyes of an old woman.

"Hello, granny, how can I help you?"

Even if she was polite, she was still suspicious. The woman reeked of magic. There was no telling who or even what this woman was, and she might not be as fragile as she appeared.

"You my dear have been terribly hard to find these last years!" Sarah stiffened.

"What do you want from me?" If she had had strength left in her body she would have made a run for it, but she was so tired.

"Oh nothing, just a little chat. You couldn't have made life a little easier on an old lady and stayed at the same place at least a few days."

Sarah traced her scars through her trousers.

"No." The witch followed the movement.

"Yes, yes of course. But that was simply bad luck, that mare have been living there for quite some time now and just couldn't resist when you laid yourself down in her bed. "

The witch sat down beside her and Sarah jumped up as fast as she could. There was a moment when the witch looked wounded by the motion, but the look was gone when Sarah looked closer. The old witch patted the ground beside her.

"Don't be silly, child. You´ll get wet. Come sit beside me, you have my word I´m not here to eat you."

Sarah didn't answer, but moved a bit closer. Out of the rain. They couldn't lie, she said to herself. That was the price of magic. They couldn't lie.

"Who and what are you?"

Sarah didn't sit down. There was no way in hell she was going to follow this witches lead. She obviously wasn't human, and she hadn't have especially good experiences with meeting

magical creatures on the roads. Well... with several exceptions of course, but non of them had appeared out of the dark on the road. Well... strike that. She sat down.

The witch clucked at Sarah's obvious discomfort.

"Calm down dearie, I just simply want to talk."

She made two cups appear and gave Sarah one of them, She looked into it. Tea. She didn't drink it though. She had learned that particular lesson a long time before.

"Well... what do you want to talk about?"

The witch smiled and showed a sharp set of teeth.

"How about this little voyage you are currently on?"

"What about it?"

"Well, not so much the voyage in itself, but the creatures you are running from?"

"Who said I was running?" The witches smile widened.

"Oh dear, its quite obvious." Sarah shrugged. "And to not even bring a mirror. Tut, tut, honey, I thought you would know better."

Sarah looked at her.

"Why would I bring a mirror?"

"Well, so you could call your friends whenever you needed them of course, not to mention the opportunity to flee quite a distance quickly if someone were trying to say... take a bite."

Sarah's hand came to rest on her thigh again.

"What are these creatures?" She asked the witch.

She didn't trusted the crone, but if she had wanted to eat her, she would have done it by now, and Sarah was so tired. Besides, the witch had come here willingly, so why not take the chance?

"Well, they are monsters of course." The woman blinked. "Monsters, nightmares, call them what you prefer. All you need to know is that you are quite appetising to them."

Sarah wrinkled her brows.

"But... why?" The witch giggled.

"Say dear, how long since I came to your have you been thinking of me as a witch?"

Sarah went stiff, but the woman just laughed.

"Your belief give them power, and they live of that power. Belief and dreams, that is what they feed upon, and your belief is strong. Your kind is getting rarer and rarer, and these darlings have gone hungry for a long time."

Sarah thought about that for a moment and then looked upon the witch.

"You said I could travel a long distance in a short amount of time if I had a mirror. How is that?"

The witch got a twinkle in her eye and took a mirror out of the air.

"Your friends come to visit via the mirror, correct? Who said you couldn't do the same?"

Sarah stiffened again. This woman knew far too much.

"Why do you know so much about me?" The witch laughed.

"I can smell the labyrinth on you. As I do other, not so pleasant smells, as well." She sniffed at Sarah, who blushed. "The truth is I have been following you for quite some time now, but why I would like to keep to myself."

She grinned at her. Her pointy teeth made Sarah think of someone else.

"To visit the labyrinth would be to jump from one monster to another."

For the first time since the woman joined her she looked offended.

"Don't be stupid, there is a lot of other magical worlds out there for you to roam." She handed Sarah the mirror.

"Do you want it?"

Something about the way she said it made a shiver travel down Sarah's spine. Se looked into the witches eyes.

"To what cost granny? Isn't that the way you work. Everything for a price, nothing for free?" The old woman smiled.

"Good girl" She said to herself. "See it as an exchange for the company." Sarah still didn't take it.

"You wont come and charge me later?" The witch laughed out loud.

"No dearie, I wont come for your first born."

Sarah took the mirror and looked into it.

"How does it work?"

The hand mirror was beautiful. It had a silver frame and at first Sarah thought it was decorated with flowers, but when she looked closer she noticed that it was different creatures slithering around each other.

"You simply have to know where you want to go."

Sarah looked up, but the crone was gone.

"Now... where do you want to go?" Sarah murmured to herself. A picture started forming in the mirror. A green field, sunshine, and an inn came into picture. Sarah smiled. "Well come on feet."

And suddenly she was gone. The dark shadows that had been creeping closer slipped away and the silhouette of a white bird against the night sky was the only thing visible in the moonlight.

**Reviews would make my day. Even at this early stage, I'd love to hear what you think!**

**If you find any typos, please do tell, and I'll erase them from their miserable existence...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Not mine... Damn.**

The warmth struck her first. The welcoming sound of people was the second thing. When she opened her eyes she realised she stood in the hallway of the in she had seen in the mirror.

A small boy came to her and took a bow.

"My lady, welcome to the Respite. May I take your bags?"

Sarah looked around her realising that her small backpack had gone with her.

"Eeeh, sure."

The boy picked it up, not reacting to its smell and waved to Sarah to follow him. She snuck her mirror into her pocket while following her. She had a feeling it wouldn't be safe to wave it around too much.

"Come with me lady. I will show you to your room."

Not sure what to think of this place, Sarah followed him. The room he showed her to was small, but comfortable. After living on the streets for the last couple of years, it looked like heaven.

At the sight of the warm bath by the fire, she almost started crying.

"Hey!" The boy had started to run out of the room, but stopped when she called him. "Its not that I don't appreciate this, but I don't have any money to pay for all this."

He smiled to her.

"Come down and talk to my father after you have washed yourself Lady. He will explain this to you. Someone will come with new clothes to you in a moment."

He bowed and ran out of the room. Sarah stood there for awhile. She couldn't comprehend this. She had wanted a safe place with a warm bath, and the mirror had taken her here. She slowly walked towards the bath. It was the perfect temperature. She wiped her eyes as she herd the door open behind her. She stood on her feet and turned to see a maid laying clean clothes on her bed.

"Excuse me?" The maid stopped and looked at her.

"Yes my Lady?"

Sarah wrinkled her eyebrows at the title. She was no lady, and she sure as hell didn't look as one.

"Could you explain to me where I am?" The made smiled.

"You are at the Respite my Lady. A safe haven for travellers. Or I should rather say A respite, since there are more of them. But most of them have closed down by now. Not a lot of creatures travel these roads anymore, so it doesn't really pay off to keep them open. "

Sarah took a breath. Money.

"I'm not sure I will be able to pay for this though." She waved her hand to the bath and the room and the maids smile broadened.

"We take stories Lady. Stories and fantasies, which is what is necessary to keep us alive. You are too young to have run out of this already. Don't worry. Just get cleaned up and you can come down to get something to eat and speak to the master about the payment."

She left on swift feet and Sarah watched the door close behind her.

This is too good to be true. But she didn't have the strength to resist the tempting bath.

When she laid down in the warm water, she felt her tense muscles relax. The tears ran down her cheeks once again while she washed. When she was finished she just lay there.

She had been hunted for so long. She hadn't been able to relax in so long, she could hardly remember it. Her eyelids started to drop. It was so warm and safe.

A banging on her door woke her up, and she spilled water on the floor when she quickly sat up.

"Lady, don't fall asleep, we have dinner ready for you downstairs!"

She stared at the door. And then she was out of he tub.

Dry, clean and newly clothed she went down the stairs just a couple of minutes afterwards.

The smell that travelled up the stairs made her belly growl.

There was only a couple of people sitting in the dining room when she entered. The man standing y the bar waved at her, so she went to him hesitantly.

"Hello, my Lady! Welcome to the Respite! We have a meal for you here. May I ask what you would like to drink this evening?" She sat down where he had put a plate with warm food.

"Just water, thank you." He smiled at her and went to fill a glass. She took a hesitant bite of the food before she started to throw it into her mouth.  
>"I take it the food was to your liking then?"<p>

She looked up, and saw the host looking at her with amusement. She wiped her mouth.

"I'm sorry. I just haven't eaten properly for so long..." He waved away her words.

"I'm just happy you like it. And I'm sure my wife will be happy to know someone is appreciating her cooking."

Sarah laughed.

"Please tell her it was delicious." She took a sip from the water. "I was told to speak to you about payment?"

The host took her finished plate.

"The prize for your room is a dream of the sea. It's a fair price and you can stay up to a week. If there is any problem with the room, we can get part of the dream back to you, but not afterwards. Sorry to say, we use up the dreams we get pretty fast, since travellers aren't that usual now a days."

Sarah just stared at him.

"What?"

He gave her a thoughtful look.

"From what I gathered from my son, you have been travelling for quit some time, but not in this part of the realms, is that true?" Sarah nodded.

"Which realm are you from then?"

Sarah hesitated.

"I'm not sure, since I haven't been to a lot of them. I have been living in New York until now."

"Aboveground then." He nodded to himself, and then lowered his voice. "I wouldn't say that too loud if I were you. You are safe here since it is a haven for travellers and violence is hindered by magic, but we can't help you once you leave."

Sarah looked around her. The people sitting around her didn't seem to take notice of her, but you could never be certain.

"Why would it matter where I come from?" The man smiled at her.

"Above is cut off from the underground, which according to the rules makes you fair game for the likes that live on humans."

Sarah opened her mouth to ask about the rules, but the man was called away by another guest.

"I'll be right back darling."

She looked down at her hands. She was so tired. A dream of the sea. A fair price. She nodded to herself.

She stood on her feet and waved to the owner. She could ask more questions tomorrow, but now she needed to sleep.

Waves filled her dreams that night. Tranquillity swept through her as the waves rocked her on the waves of an endless blue world.

**I'm so sorry for the long wait!**

**I have been busy. And not in the good way...**

**But now I'm back! Thank you for the favourites and the reviews. Keep 'em coming, so I know what you think about it! And please point out spelling errors for me. Sin Beta they have a tendency to slip through**

**Kaytory: I hope the bath was to your liking! You never know with that sneaky bastard, do you now? ;)**

**Sarah Rose 20 : It sure beats walking. :)**


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